AMC Picks Up Shows from Nikita, Breaking Bad Producers

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Nikita's Craig Silverstein lands a Revolutionary War spy drama while Breaking Bad producers look to take us back to the '80s.

By Matt Fowler

AMC announced today that they have greenlit two new scripted series; one a totally '80s computer-boom drama and the other a Revolutionary War thriller. With Mad Men gone in two years, Breaking Bad gone after eight more episodes and Hell on Wheels perhaps never catching on liked they hoped it would (though it is returning for Season 3), it's clear the network is looking for it's "next big thing." Of course, The Walking Dead is still a monster hit for them, but what about the rest of the year?

The first drama is Halt & Catch Fire, produced by Breaking Bad's Mark Johnson and Melissa Bernstein, which dramatizes the personal computing boom in the early '80s through the eyes of a visionary, an engineer and a prodigy whose innovations directly confront the corporate behemoths of the time. Their personal and professional partnership will be challenged by greed and ego while charting the changing culture in Texas' Silicon Prairie.

The next project is Turn, based on Alexander Rose's book "Washington’s Spies." Turn, written by Nikita showrunner Craig Silverstein and executive produced by Barry Josephson (Bones), is set in the summer of 1778 and tells the story of New York farmer, Abe Woodhull, who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form The Culper Ring, an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America’s fight for independence.

Something you won&#Array;t see on either of AMC&#Array;s new period dramas? This laser thingy.

“These additional pilot orders demonstrate AMC's investment in our original scripted programming,” said Susie Fitzgerald, AMC’s SVP of scripted development and current programming. “Both of these projects take the audience into unique worlds through compelling characters told with an original voice. We are so fortunate to be working with such exceptional talent on both of these projects.”